Comments on: Bill Heard’s $2.2 Billion Reputation Lesson

By: Andy Beal

Andy Beal — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:28:18 +0000

@Christopher a great example of why everyone should check their Google reputation often.

By: Christopher Ross

Christopher Ross — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:12:19 +0000

A few weeks back, my boss walked into my office while I was looking over some paperwork. On the monitor behind me was a financial report about him, specifically his latest contributions to the Republican party. Needless to say, he was concerned both how and why I had this information. I explained to him that I had an RSS news feed triggered to identify news, blog and web posts which mentioned his name and that information about him was common on the Internet. It's funny, this man runs multi-million dollar companies but had never stopped to consider how much information about him was on the internet. Christopher Ross's last blog post..Google Changes the Way SERP's are Displayed

By: Nicole Price

Nicole Price — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:22:09 +0000

The point at issue here is simply that the dealership would appear to have decided to be cavalier in its customer relationship. No amount of spin on that attitude can generate any good reputation. Under these circumstances, there was no question of managing a reputation. It had to exist to start with! Nicole Price's last blog post..Discount Lingerie

By: PS3

PS3 — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:33:07 +0000

I’ve only ever had reason to use the BBB once and they didn’t seem to have much substance. Clearly that wasn’t the case here.

By: Check Page Rank

Check Page Rank — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:39:01 +0000

A reminder for Bill Gates too. Rep is an important value as you gain people’s trust. Thats why Billy is using money for good purposes too..

By: CarpetGuy

CarpetGuy — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:46:24 +0000

I once worked for Bill Heard and I have to say, that during my time as a New Car Sales Rep., I was embarrassed! I had been in the business for some time and was recruited to work for them through deception! Not one of the things that they promised me ever happened! I saw the crooked dealings, there was fraud in the leases, the sales, the trade ins, you name it, Bill Heard was a crook and finally they put a stop to it! After hundreds, maybe thousands of complaints, just in Houston, for 2 of his dealerships, this cancer has finally been stopped! I say good riddance! CarpetGuy's last blog post..Ronald Reagan: Tear down this wall: As I remember it!

By: Shane Eubanks

Shane Eubanks — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:40:03 +0000

Your comments about being honest with customers rings extremely true regarding the collapse of Bill Heard. I've come across so many people who actually thought they were purchasing a vehicle only to find out they were only leasing it. The sales associates were apparently "coached" to sell the leases in this "it's a great deal for you" sort of attitude. They even sold a 65 month lease to an individual! RIDICULOUS. So yes, great point about monitoring the conversation surrounding your competitors. Find their weakness and create strength from it. Good riddance to Bill Turd. Shane Eubanks's last blog post..What I Learned at the 2008 Webmaster Jam Session

By: Elliot

Elliot — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:15:48 +0000

yes, we have had a Chevrolet dealer customer as well. complaints mostly focused on financing deals poorly explained by staff and being hooked into payments buyers couldn’t afford. it’s the sub-prime of the auto dealership business, likely to spread. check out GM stock price, more dealers may go down. it was challenging.

By: Utah SEO Pro

Utah SEO Pro — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:33:38 +0000

Sad how a reputation issue can occur on the web within the blink of an eye and cost loads of cash to a company. Even can bankrupt them. Utah SEO Pro's last blog post..Link Metrics for SEO

By: cat pickett

cat pickett — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:56:33 +0000

I'm not usually big on Schadenfreude, but I was happy see Bill Heard crash and burn. My experience with them ranks among the worst at car dealers in my lifetime. Watch for your competitor’s weaknesses and make them your strengths. I think this is key, especially as markets become smaller and more competitive due to the crappy economy. One of my clients is beginning to target their competitor's unhappy customers and has had a great response so far. cat pickett's last blog post..Competitive SEO Tools